Hello and welcome to Charlotte’s Vineyard. We made this to be a review site for various juicers and blenders so that you can research different ones before finally deciding on which is the best fit for you. We will also be writing general articles on healthy eating, juicing, working out, and anything else that involves being healthy! Along with that, we will be posting our own favorite smoothie and juice recipes that we whip up in our kitchens so you can try them out yourself.
All of our blender and juicer reviews are written by real users of the products and each person has their own reason for recommending the one that they do. Some people just prefer one over the other, which leads into one of the most common questions we see:
What is the best juicer or blender?
This is a very tough question to answer and to be honest, there is no best one. It really comes down to personal preference and what you plan on using the device for. Blenders are a little easier as there’s only 2 of them we recommend using and those are the Vitamix and the Blendtec. You really can’t go wrong with either one and they are similarly priced as well. I personally use a Vitamix, but a lot of people I know and some of the readers and writers for this blog use a Blendtec and it works amazing as well (it’s like comparing a Ferrari and a Lamborghini. I’d take either one!).
Now when it comes to juicers, there are a lot more options out there to choose from. If I absolutely had to narrow it down, I would probably have to say the Green Star juicer is my favorite. I also really like the Champion juicer and the Omega juicer (I prefer the masticating model for the Omega. Anything from the J8004 – J8006).
Now that doesn’t mean other juicers don’t work good as well. A few of the other juicers that are reviewed here from our writers are the Hurom Slow juicer, the Breville juicer, and the Jack Lalanne juicer. Breville has some models that are priced a little cheaper in case you’re on a budget, and the Jack Lalanne can be found for a reasonable price as well. The others will run you anywhere from $200-$400 or so, but trust me, it’s money well spent. Look at it as an investment in your health.
So have a look around and check out our reviews. We really hope you enjoy the site and you are able to find the perfect blender or juicer (or both!) for your needs.
When my husband recently went to the doctor and found out that he had high cholesterol, we were very concerned. His doctor said that he needed to start eating a healthier, more well-balanced diet. My husband was always a fast food kind of guy, but I guess that all of his burger craving finally caught up with him. When he found out that he had high cholesterol, he immediately said that he would start eating better, and the entire family changed their diet, too.
Part of our healthier diet includes making our own juices at home. We researched healthy diets and found that making fresh juice can actually have a huge impact on your overall health. So, that being said, we went out and bought the juicer that we thought had the best reviews; and that was the Green Star Juicer Elite.
We have been using the Green Star Juicer for about 4 months and we are absolutely thrilled with it. It’s easy to use, it makes great tasting juices, and most importantly, it has helped us all with our healthy diet initiative and has helped to lower my husband’s cholesterol! We are very happy customers.
• 110 volts of power
• It has an automatic pulp ejection, which allows for the continuous flow of juice and easier clean up of pulp.
• It is very easy to assemble.
• Doesn’t take too long to clean.
• It can juice almost every type of fruit and vegetable, and it can grind nuts and grains, too.
• Fine screen
• Glass juice pitchers
• Plastic and wooden plungers
• A cleaning brush
• A 5 year warranty
How it Works
The way the Green Star Juicer works is actually quite interesting. I know that with a lot of other juicers, you toss in your ingredients and they are all mashed up by a powerful motor and juice just pours out. This process can often result in juice that isn’t quite as healthy, because it is heated up by the motor of the juicer and the nutrients are diminished from the heat. Well, with the Green Star Juicer, the ingredients are juiced by a twin-gear impeller press system. This means that your fruits and vegetables are pressed at a very powerful, but low RPM, which not only results in more juice output, but healthier juice.
To use this product, basically all you have to do is select what it is that you want to juice – fruits, vegetables and even wheat grass. After setting up your juice pitcher and pulp catcher, turn on the machine, insert your ingredients and then use one of the plungers (we prefer the wooden one) to push the ingredients into the twin gears. Now just sit back while the juicer works its magic. It automatically pulls the pulp out of the juice, so you don’t have to stop and pull the pulp out manually and you can enjoy the continuous flow of juice.
Not only can we make juice with this amazing product, but we can also use it to make fresh nut spreads. This is because it can actually crush nuts, as well! Homemade peanut butter, cashew butter and walnut butter have become a favorite in our house.
To get a better idea of how the Green Star Elite works, check out this demonstration video by John from DiscountJuicers.com:
Advantages and Disadvantages
Nothing in life is perfect, but The Green Star Juicer is pretty close to perfection when it comes to juicers. However, there are a few things that can be improved upon too.
Pros
Here’s what I like the best about the Green Star Elite Juicer:
It is extremely quiet.
I can make juice out of virtually anything; fruits, vegetables and even wheat grass!
It makes great tasting and very healthy juice that doesn’t oxidize quickly due to the low RPM motor.
Very easy to use.
I can crush nuts with it to make nut butters too.
Leaves the pulp extremely dry so you know you’re getting as much juice as possible out of your fruits and vegetables. This helps you to save money over the long-term.
Cons
I do have to address some cons with the Green Star Juicer:
• It is a bit bigger than some of the other juicers on the market, so make sure you have a big enough cabinet to store it in, or enough counter space.
• There are a lot of pieces to it, so assembly and clean up can take a little longer than other juicers.
Where to Buy
There are a lot of stores that carry the Green Star Juicer, but I would recommend ordering it through Amazon.com. Not only is it the best price I have seen, but they also have some really cool add-on items you can include in your order as well as free shipping. They also offer the best money-back guarantee and warranty, whereas I’m not sure what type of guarantee other stores give you.
Final Recommendations
If you want my honest opinion, I say GO FOR IT! This is a fantastic juicer. It makes great tasting juice that is so healthy for you, and while it’s a bit expensive, just look at it as an investment in your health. Would you rather spend money on doctor bills from being sick, or on this juicer and all the great fruit and vegetables juices you can make with it? In my opinion, it will pay for itself many times over. It may sound crazy, but you literally just feel better and healthier after drinking a glass of fresh, homemade juice. My family has really benefitted from this juicer. We are more than pleased with it and we will be using it for many years to come.
My husband and I own a breakfast bar. We aren’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill breakfast bar, either. You won’t find processed foods at our place; we pride ourselves in offering a menu that features 100% organic food and beverages. From our eggs to our waffles, everything that we serve comes from local farms and is completely organic.
When it comes to juice, we don’t serve the bottled stuff; we make our own fresh juice every morning. Using fresh, organic fruits and vegetables from a local farm, we make all types of juices; from apple to strawberry banana and different green juices.
Since we make our own juice, you can bet that we have tried several different types of juicers. When our last one broke down, we decided to upgrade to one that would allow us to make even more wholesome, delicious and nutritious juice. After reading tons of reviews, we finally decided on the Hurom Slow Juicer.
Ever since we started using this product, there is no doubt about it; our juice tastes better and our customers are happier than ever. We are blown away by the Hurom Slow Juicer and we bet that you will be, too.
• Dual-stage extraction of fruits and vegetables, which allows for maximum output of juice.
• Very quiet operation.
• Screen for juicing fine and coarse ingredients.
• Pulp extraction plugs.
• Self cleaning screen holders.
• Two 50 ounce juicing cups.
• A tamper.
• A brush.
• Self cleaning.
• A 10 year warranty.
• An easy to follow instruction manual.
How the Hurom Slow Juicer Works
The Hurom Slow Juicer is a single auger juicer. This means that it works to slowly juice the ingredients that are added to it so that you can get the maximum amount of juice from these ingredients. It is also a dual stage juicer, which means that the juice is pulled out of the fruits and vegetables in the first stage of crushing, and then the pulp that is created from the first stage is then squeezed during the second stage of pressing. This means that you are getting the most amount of juice out of all of the fibers of the ingredients, but you are also getting very dry pulp, which means an easier clean up.
Because of the dual stage juicing process, and the auger design of the Hurom Slow Juicer, you are getting a higher quality product than you get out of most standard juicers. The products that are yielded from this juicer are healthier and more flavorful. You also won’t end up with any froth or foam, and you’ll have a smoother juice, which makes for a better end product.
Since the Hurom Slow Juicer features a single auger design, you don’t have to worry about a lot of noise. While centrifugal juicers grind ingredients at a high speed, they often create a lot of noise; but since this juicer crushes the ingredients, it operates at a much quieter level.
The fact that this machine is self cleaning is another big plus. When it’s time for clean up, all we have to do is throw some water in it and it cleans itself. This makes for quicker clean up, as well as better tasting juices, as you can clean it between the addition of different ingredients.
There are so many different drinks you can make with the Hurom including:
Fruit juices – Everything from standard apple, orange, or grape juice to combinations like strawberry banana, pineapple and mango, and any other combination you can think of.
Green juices – Spinach, kale, wheatgrass, and other greens and vegetables juice perfectly in this machine. Add them to your fruit juices for extra vitamins and minerals.
Almond Milk or Soy Milk – Just combine almonds and water or soybeans and water and you get a great tasting milk without any pulp.
Tomato juice – Make your own homemade V8 or tomato soup!
Here is a video showing the Hurom Slow juicer versus a traditional juicer. You can really see how much higher quality the product is that comes out of the Hurom as opposed to the other machine:
Advantages and Disadvantages
I wouldn’t be offering a quality review if I didn’t mention the good and the bad of the Hurom Slow Juicer. There are a ton of positives associated with this juicer, and there are just a few negatives.
Pros
Better quality and better tasting juice than a lot of other products on the market.
It can juice everything from fruits and vegetables, to even wheat grass and soy!
The pulp is very dry, so there’s very little mess.
Clean up is easy due to the self cleaning feature. Just pour some soapy water in the juicer and let it run.
Operates very quietly, so you don’t have to worry about disturbing others with the loud noises that some juicers make.
Cons
It works pretty slowly. I know it says that it’s a ‘fast slow juicer,’ and it is, but it is still slower than centrifugal juicers. However, the fact that it works slowly is the reason why the juice is so much tastier and healthier than other juicers, since high speeds compromise the integrity of the juice.
I find that I have to tear up larger leafy greens before juicing them, otherwise they get caught in the machine. Not a big deal, but something you should know.
Where to Buy
This juicer is available at several different retail stores and websites, but the best value we have seen it for is on Amazon.com. Not only is it the lowest price, but they also offer Free Shipping and a free recipe book.
Final Recommendations
Well, to sum it all up; I am highly satisfied with the Hurom Slow Juicer. It makes an exceptionally healthy and tasty juice, it is very easy to use, and clean up is so easy that it is almost unbelievable. Not only do I and my husband love the juice that we make with this juicer, but our customers do too, and that’s the most important thing to us. We completely recommend this juicer. It gets 5 Stars from us.
Growing up on an orchard, I have always enjoyed being able to make fresh juice. There’s nothing like being able to walk right out onto my own property and pick fresh apples, peaches and other types of fruits in order to make my own juice. The taste when you make your own is amazing and the health benefits are excellent; no additives here!
Now, since I have been making my own juice from fresh ingredients since I can remember, you can imagine I have used a lot of different types of juicers. From the old fashioned hand pressing juicers to the more modern mechanical juicers – I have used them all. Recently, I purchased the Champion Juicer and after using it for just one week, I can already tell that this machine is going to far surpass all of the others that I have used before.
Not only does the Champion Juicer make a fresh glass of juice quickly, but it also extracts all of the liquid from the fruit so you aren’t wasting anything. The pulp comes out very dry. I also use this machine to juice vegetables, make fruit sorbets for dessert, and make homemade nut butters and nut milks (I love almond butter and almond milk!) and those processes are all very easy. I am a big fan of the Champion Juicer and I can honestly say that I will be using it for a long, long time.
• Large feed tube that measure 1.75 inches in diameter
• A juicing screen
• A sieve
• A tamper
• A blank screen
• Runs at a fast 1725 RPMs
• 650 watts of power
• 10 year manufactures warranty
How it Works
The Champion Juicer is quite easy to use. There are about 7 parts total, but only 4-5 of them that need to be put together at a time and they all go together very quickly and easily (check out the image below to see what all the parts look like).
All you have to do is first attach the cutter onto the motor base (the juicer itself), then select the proper screen and slide that onto the body (use the fine screen for juicing fruits and vegetables and the blank screen if you want to make nut butters, fruit sorbets, or anything else with more thickness to it). Next, attach the screen holder to the body and slide the whole body over the cutter. If you need the funnel, you can put that in the feed chute too. Now you’re ready to juice. Place a bowl under the juicer where your juice will be coming out, and place another bowl or a cup under the pulp ejector section to catch all the pulp.
From here you just select your fruits and vegetables you want to juice and insert them into the feed chute. While the chute is a decent size, you will still need to chop down bigger pieces of produce so that they can fit. For example, you can’t fit a whole apple or orange into the chute, but if you cut it into about 6 pieces, it will fit perfectly fine. As you’re putting your fruits or veggies in, use the included tamper to help push them along.
Because the motor of the Champion Juicer is operated by such powerful RPMs, it can handle breaking down the coarse skins of any type of fruit or vegetable, so you don’t have to worry about peeling your ingredients before you juice. Please note, with oranges and other strong citrus fruits, the rind is very bitter, so you will definitely want to remove the skin on these or it will ruin the taste of your juice. All other fruits and vegetables are okay to leave the skin on though. You also don’t have to worry about the skin of the fruits or vegetables making their way into your juice, because the Champion Juicer separates the fibers from the juices, leaving you with a smooth and delicious final product.
When it comes time for clean up, all you have to do is take the machine apart, empty the fibers that remain in the juicer, and then toss the components that need to be washed into the dishwasher. That’s it.
Here is a video demonstration of the Champion Juicer in action to give you a better idea of how it all works:
Advantages and Disadvantages
Nothing in life is perfect; there is always going to be an up side and a down side to everything, and that holds true for the Champion Juicer. While there are just a few cons, there are far more pros associated with the Champion Juicer. Here is a look at what I found:
Pros
Extremely powerful motor.
Can be used for everything from fruit and vegetable juices to fruit sorbets, nut butters and nut milks, smoothies, and even soups.
Highly durable.
Easy to assemble and easy to operate.
Makes juice quickly.
Breaks down even the hardest of fibers.
Very easy to clean.
10 year warranty in case anything goes wrong. This shows they really stand behind their product.
While there really aren’t many cons associated with this juicer, I do still feel that I should mention them.
Cons
Operates pretty loudly.
Pretty large, which makes it difficult to store. I have to have it out on my countertop all of the time.
Where to Buy
If you are interested in purchasing the Champion Juicer, I would definitely recommend you purchase through Amazon.com. That is where I got mine from and aside from being the lowest price I have seen online, they also shipped it to my house for free. This is great because since it’s a bulkier item, it would probably have costed a lot if I had to pay for the shipping myself.
Final Recommendation
If you are like me and you love the taste of freshly made juice, than the Champion Juicer is the machine for you. As I mentioned before, I have been making fresh juice since I can remember and I have used many, many juicers. Of all of the juicers that I have used, the Champion is at the top of the list. It is easy to use, it is easy to clean and it makes fresh, healthy and great tasting juice.
I can really say that I will be using the Champion Juicer for a very long time. I give this juicer my seal of approval and I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering making their own juice at home.
These days, with the unfortunate reality of the childhood obesity epidemic, it’s more important than ever to make sure that our children are eating right. In an effort to ensure that my kids are eating right and that they don’t become one of those awful statistics, I vowed that I wouldn’t be one of those moms who grabs fast food and calls it dinner.
While yes, it can be tough to make sure that my kids are eating healthy and it can be difficult to find the time to make nutritious meals for them, with the Omega Juicer it really is a lot easier than you might think.
You see, not only is the Omega Juicer a powerful juicer, but it is also a powerful food processor, grinder, homogenizer and pasta extruder. It really is an unbelievable machine and I do owe a lot of my family’s healthy diet to it.
Thanks to this one appliance, I can make all natural and great tasting juices, sauces, mixes, yogurts, pastas…. Well, the list really goes on and on. I use my Omega Juicer every single day and it has really become the work horse of my kitchen. To say that I am happy with this product would be an understatement; I really am overjoyed with it!
The Omega Juicer is so much different than any other type of juicer that I have ever used. Since I have been making my own homemade juices and foods for some time, you can imagine that I have used several types of juicers in the past. Unlike conventional juicers that operate at high speeds to extract the juice from the fruits and vegetables, this is a masticating juicer. But what’s a masticating juicer? That’s what I asked when I first learned about this product. This simply means that the Omega Juicer crushes and grinds the ingredients that are added to it instead of spinning at high speeds like some other juicers do. This means that the appliance really pulls all of the juices out of the ingredients – and it doesn’t heat them up like other juicers do, so you are left with a product that is exceptionally healthy.
I love that the appliance continuously pulls the pulp out of the juice because this means that I can continuously juice without having to worry about pulp getting in the way. This also means that I am left with really smooth juice that my kids love to drink!
I can make juice with a variety of soft fruits and vegetables, like strawberries and tomatoes. I can also make juice with harder fruits and vegetables, such as apples and carrots. No food is too soft or too tough for this appliance.
I also use this juicer to make almond butter, peanut butter, fresh purees, salsas, sauces… and so much more!
It’s very simple to use too. All you need to do is:
1. Chop up your ingredients so that they are small enough to fit through the chute (they don’t need to be super small, just cutting them in chunks is fine).
2. Setup a pitcher underneath the spout where the juice comes out and another container under where the pulp comes out.
3. Turn the juicer on and push your ingredients through the chute with the plastic device that comes with it.
4. All of the freshly squeezed juice will end up in your pitcher and the pulp will automatically be extracted into the separate container you setup.
Here is a video of Joe from Rockstar Reviews using the Omega J8005 model which will allow you to see exactly how it works:
Advantages and Disadvantages
Everything in life has its good side and its bad side; and this is true for the Omega Juicer as well. In order to give you a proper review of this juicer, I wanted to share some of the pros and cons of this product with you.
Pros
Operates very quietly.
Because it is a masticator, it crushes the ingredients instead of whipping them around at high speeds, making healthier juices and foods.
I don’t have to worry about cleaning up messy pulp.
I can make healthy juices, as well as other nutritious foods that my entire family loves.
The appliance is very easy to use.
The product is exceptionally durable, so it can be used every day.
It’s very easy to clean.
Cons
The feed chute is kind of slim, so you do have to cut up all of the ingredients that you want to use.
It operates fairly slowly, so the juice and food-making process can be lengthy.
Where to Buy
You can buy the Omega Juicer from many different locations, but from what I have seen, the best place to buy is through Amazon.com. They have the lowest price I’ve seen and they will ship the juicer to you for free which saves you some money too. You can also add other cool products to your order like juice recipe books and various accessories.
Final Recommendations
If you are serious about making healthy juices and other healthy foods, than the Omega Juicer is the product for you. Thanks to this appliance, I can make juices and foods that are not only healthy, but that my kids really love. While there are other juicers on the market that are also powerful and produce quality products, in my honest opinion, this one is the best of the best.
admin 
February 8, 2013
